Fragments
by rockyhorrorgirl
Summary: AU. The smallest decisions can change everything. A series of one-shots based on a 'what-if' world in which Helen had married Nikola instead. Nikola/Helen
1. Fatality

_So this is a new little thing I thought I might attempt. It's a series of semi-unrelated one-shots centered around Helen/Nikola and what kind of shenannigans they might have gotten into had they been engaged/married/together. They won't go in order, really, but will be just random snippets of certain years and events. This first one is where it branches off into AU from the flashbacks seen on the show._

_Enjoy!_

_**001. fatality - summer, 1889**_

It was sweltering hot as Helen stepped outside, fan closed tightly in her hand. Outside proved to be surprisingly cooler than the inside of the manor, as there was a strong breeze blowing across the grounds. The doors and windows had been thrown open in order to cool off the inside, but most of the time it had only succeeded in blowing around documents and causing the curtains to gently waft upward and tangle within themselves. Helen had sought refuge outside in an attempt to cool herself off as night fell and a cool temperature had finally started to settle in.

Parties simply weren't her thing, Helen had realized. She'd enjoyed them enough, but when her mind had been elsewhere most of the night she found the gathering to be quite dull. She'd forced her way through appropriate conversations with the right people so she didn't appear to be rude, but Helen wanted nothing more than to leave and return home. Rather, join James, Nigel, and Nikola out in hunting the aggressive abnormal creature that she had been tracking for days now in an attempt to bring it to her father for safe keeping.

But no, Helen was stranded at a party on the three men's assistance. She had agreed begrudgingly to go, mostly because they needed the funding that several higher-ups in the room with Helen had been willing to give. Speaking with them that night had secured the funds and now that Helen had done her job, she wanted to leave. Her problem was making it through the room to the door without being caught up in a conversation. Part of her considered using the balcony as a means for escape, but she was far too tired to even bother with figuring that one out.

"Dr. Magnus?"

She internally groaned as she turned around, careful to mind several other guests that had come out onto the balcony to escape the oven-like room. A man, clearly not a guest, lingered in the doorway that led back inside. Helen frowned.

"Can I help you?"

"I have a message for you. There's been an emergency and according to Mr. Nigel Griffin, you're to return home as immediately." He said and something akin to panic coiled within the pit of her stomach.

"What sort of emergency?"

"Dr. Tesla's been gravely injured."

Her stomach dropped and her heart leapt into her throat.

"I need my carriage. Now."

"Already called, ma'am."

Helen nodded and gathered her skirts, quickly heading back inside. She moved through the room as fast as possible, curtly ignoring anyone who tried to address her or got in her way. Well, it was certainly one way to be excused properly from a party. She'd have to apologize to Mr. Robinson, the host, later on for her abrupt departure. But at the moment, Helen was more concerned about Nikola. Gravely injured meant it was terribly bad, as Nigel and James only used the term to describe ones who wouldn't live. Nikola was a vampire, however. How could he not live? Had the injuries been that extensive?

She was going to murder the abnormal who had clearly done it to him.

Her carriage was waiting as promised and she waved off the driver as he attempted to help her inside. She could very well do it her own damn self. He had clearly been informed of the urgency, as he went at a pace that was usually less than acceptable along the cobblestone streets. London moved by in a buzz of scenery that Helen hardly paid attention to. Why did it have to be so far to the other side of the city? Frustration settled in quickly in addition to the fear and concern that already coursed through her body, giving her a bad case of the jitters that had her nearly shaking in her seat.

The carriage jerked to a sudden halt and before Helen could catch herself, she flew out of the seat and sprawled onto the floor of the carriage. _What in God's name?_ She moved to pull herself up, reaching for the door – but it flew open before her fingers could close around the handle. Her breath hitched in her throat.

"John."

"Good evening, Helen. Don't you know it's dangerous to go through this part of London at night?" John Druitt asked, that smirk across his face and his tone rather too malicious for her liking. Helen had assumed John would come looking for her eventually.

"Why in such a hurry? Did you get my message?"

With a sick feeling, Helen released it had been John who had sent the message, intending to luring her away. Nikola was likely fine, and she had been rushing into the arms of the man who likely very much wanted to kill her. Helen moved discreetly for the gun she kept under the seat, but John caught her arm before she could get very far.

"I think not, Helen. Let's take a walk, shall we?"

He grabbed her and jerked her to her feet outside of the carriage. The horses seemed unnerved and she could see why – the body of her carriage driver lay slumped in his seat, hands still clenched around the reigns and pulling on them awkwardly in no known command. John pulled her up onto the deserted sidewalk and down an alleyway between two of the taller brick buildings. Disoriented, Helen had no idea just where she was, or where she was being taken.

"Why are you doing this, John?" She inquired, flinching at the tight grip he had on her upper arm. Her hair was falling down from its pins, tumbling down over her shoulders and well down her back. John propelled her down the alleyway, deeper into the city of London.

"Why ask questions to which you already know the answer?"

"I know why, John. It's that damned ability of yours driving you insane." Helen snapped and in the next instant, found herself thrown against the wall, John pinning her there. He towered over her, a menacing creature clearly not to be messed with. Helen had always enjoyed a challenge.

"I'm perfectly aware of what I'm doing. Killing helps, you know. Helps relieve the tension. It's been getting lesser and lesser since I killed those women in Whitechapel, but something's not been quite right. It was only until recently that there's only one more need die before I can finally be free." He said, voice low, breath hot on her face. Pinned to the wall with the brick digging in, Helen was forced to listen to his angry ramblings. There was a long moment of silence between them before he pulled her away from the wall and they continued on their 'walk'.

"Then why not kill me and be done with it?" She asked next, having difficulties keeping up with his long strides with the way he had her arm positioned. He chuckled darkly.

"I'm very methodic. Surely James informed you of that when he saw the bodies. I have to find the right place and decide how precisely I want to kill you first."

"Really haven't thought this one out then, much, have you?" Helen dared, earning another dark look from her once lover and former fiancé. He didn't respond, however, and Helen seized the opportunity to reflect and figure a way out of this particular mess. There was no alerting James or Nigel or Nikola, or even police – no, Helen was in this particular situation alone, unarmed, and running short on time.

"If you'd let me help you, John, it needn't be like this." She began, quieter, trying to stall for time.

"No one can help me now, Helen. Not even you."

"You were my first patient. I saved you once while you were adjusting and I can do it again to help you adjust to a different sort of life. Back into a normal semblance of reality." Helen continued. He glanced at her as they came across one of the back roads. It too was deserted, so John pulled her down a few blocks and into another alleyway. Helen vaguely recognized the location from the flashes of store fronts.

"What? So I can be perfectly sane when they haul me off to Scotland Yard? I think not."

"Yet you're so very willing to kill the woman you once loved to ease some pain off your mind? You're not making sense, John!"

"It doesn't have to make sense!

Another slam up against the wall of another building. Helen flinched when she felt her head crack against it. Stars and spots flooded her vision for a long moment and when he pulled her away, she found it mildly difficult to walk a straight path. His hand on her arm kept her upright, however, and soon enough they had appeared on another road. The park was just across the street.

"You're sick John, so very sick. It's why you're not teleporting right now. You're afraid doing it will drive you over the edge and you're hoping that by killing me you can curb that sickness for a little amount of time. Eventually you're going to murder again." Helen stated firmly as he pulled her across the street. His grip on her arm grew tighter and there was a flash of light –

- they appeared together on the other side of the closed wrought iron gates and continued their 'walk' toward the center of the park. She had come here very often with the members of the Five, most recently a picnic with Nikola just last weekend. Before that, she'd gone for a walk with James to discuss the new breakthroughs they were having in a place other than a lab.

"At first I thought the theater, you know." John said suddenly as they walked along the path, Helen growing more agitated, if not slightly panicked by the second. "Where you seemed so fond of, where we were together before I proposed. Then I thought the park – why not put your body on display? Surely then you'll be as well-known as you wanted to be. Only instead of as a doctor or scientist, it'll be as a murder victim who was far too pretty to have her life cut down."

A sickening feeling pooled within Helen's gut as they stopped, near the fountain in the center of the park. He released her and shoved her several feet away before withdrawing a knife, glinting and silver, from within his coat. Helen swallowed, taking a step back.

"You don't really want to do this."

"Oh, but I really do."

He lunged at her and she barely had time to deflect and dodge, moving to punch him in the face in hopes of snapping his nose. He caught her arm before it made contact, twisted, and propelled her backward again.

"Nice try."

He came at her again and the knife caught her arm before she pulled away, wishing to be in anything more than the elaborately layered gown she was in that restricted her movement. There would be only few moves she would be able to do, and even they wouldn't be able to hold John off forever. He was grinning though, clearly entertained by her attempts to fight back. Like hell if she was going to put up with going down without a fight.

Her hand closed around his hand that held the knife. He twisted his arm in an attempt to fling her off, but she grabbed it with her other hand and attempted to wrestle it away from him. His other hand wrapped around her waist and easily pulled her away. She stumbled on the hem of her gown and toppled backwards; John had her pinned to the ground before she could move away.

"I'm truly sorry it ends like this, Helen." He said and drew the knife along her neck, just breaking the skin. Pain erupted across her skin as he sliced her flesh open. "Any last words you'd like to share?"

"Enjoy hell you bloody bastard." She hissed before her knee came up and nailed him in the groin. The blow wasn't as hard as she would have liked because of the layers on her dress, but it was enough to weaken him for a moment. She took the opportunity to push him off and scramble to her feet. She stomped hard on his hand to make his fist release the knife, which she promptly grabbed and began to run back toward the entrance of the park.

She needed to get inside. Somewhere public where she would be surrounded by people. John wouldn't dare to make a move. Then after that, perhaps out of London. Somewhere secretive, where John wouldn't be able to trace her or find her. What then? Spend the rest of her immortal days on the run from a man who wanted to murder her in cold blood just to find relief?

Helen's legs burned and her lungs protested each breath she took as she ran, knife clutched tightly in one hand and her skirts hiked up beyond what was appropriate so she wouldn't trip on her face. The gate to the park, still tightly closed, was visible –

- until a flash of light and John was suddenly advancing toward her. She came to a halt and began to run another way, off into the well-trimmed grass that stretched across the park. She ran parallel to the iron fencing that surrounded the park, eyes still open for someone, anyone that could help her rid herself of her persistent attacker. Vaguely she thought of screaming, but what was the point when everyone was inside and not likely to hear her?

Arms wrapped around her waist from behind and a scream fell from her lips instinctively, echoing across the park grounds and disappearing into the night. The knife fell from her hand. She kicked and twisted and tried in vain to get away from John, but he had produced a gun now. She could feel it pressed tightly against her back, as if daring her to move.

Oh, she dared.

Twisting in his arms her fingers closed around the barrel and aimed it upward. He had already begun to pull the trigger, which fired a shot off into the air. She struggled for control of the gun, elbowing him as hard as she could in the gut and stamping on his foot.

"You'd make it so much easier on yourself if you stopped resisting." John muttered low in her ear and she pulled away from his voice, dragging the gun with her. She could see his finger closing down on the trigger again as he pointed it back toward her. She knocked it to the side where it fired another shot into the ground.

Voice could be heard now, somewhere not far off, likely drawn finally from her scream and the gunfire. John glanced toward the direction of them and she took her chance. Fingers closed tightly around the barrel of the gun once more, she twisted it around to face him. His finger instinctively pulled the trigger in response and another shot fired, this one straight into his own chest. Helen jumped in mild surprise, releasing the gun and his hand. He fell to his knees, still alive, and aimed the gun toward her again with a shaking hand. His mouth opened to say something, but it was lost as he fell face forward and the gun fell from his hand. Helen kicked it away across the grass.

"Helen!"

More arms wrapped themselves around her and she very nearly punched whoever it was, until she recognized the cold hands and smell of wine, upon which she buried her face deep within Nikola's chest. He pulled her back, away from the body, and faintly she heard James and Nigel saying things in the background. Helen didn't care. John was dead. She'd killed him. Her nightmare was over and she had likely saved the lives of countless other young women, but at the cost of what? If he'd only let her help him – but he was right. He'd been far beyond the help she could have offered.

Functioning nearly on auto-pilot, she didn't realize she was being led away until Nikola had her outside of the park and he was putting her in a carriage. She'd heard James tell him something – like to get her away from the scene so they could clean up and make it look like an average murder. Helen wanted to help and had been about to voice so when her neck gave a painful throb and she was reminded that she was indeed bleeding.

"It's over, Helen. Relax." Nikola's voice drew her out of her thoughts as she pressed a hand to her neck. Only then did she realize she was trembling somewhat. Nikola's hand was arm her arm, a bandage in his other hand as he prepared to staunch the flow of blood coming from her neck. Gently, she lowered her hand and he took to patching her up with gentle hands, even in the jostling carriage.

"Are you okay?" He inquired as he tied the bandage around her neck and turned his attentions to her arm. Oh, yeah. That was bleeding too.

"I'm fine." Helen managed.

"Liar."

"I'll live, if that's what you're asking." She sighed in return.

"That's not what I'm asking."

Helen turned her gaze toward him as he tied the other bandage around her arm. His fingers wrapped around hers and he pressed a kiss to her knuckles, his behavior as her suitor still quite gentlemanly, even in the face of recent events.

For once, her carefully built armor that she normally stood behind cracked and wavered; she could practically see her masks falling off. No, she wasn't all right. She had killed a man. She'd never killed much of anything in her entire life except for a few bugs that had gotten a little too close for comfort. Her mind was reeling over the fact that it was John, unwilling to accept that she had just killed the man she had once loved.

Reluctantly and hesitantly, she let herself be drawn into Nikola's embrace. She didn't cry, but her body trembled against her will, shivering in an attempt to push away the cold feeling that wanted to settle over her. Her fingers wrapped in Nikola's jacket as she suddenly remembered the emergency note, the lie John had fabricated to draw her out. He knew it would have pulled her home instantly; in that moment she realized just how much John had known how to affect her. She drew in a shaking breath and tried not to think about it, however. He was gone and she no longer had to worry about him again.

Curled within the arms of her best friend and current suitor, Helen tried to forget everything.

"Take me home, Nikola."


	2. Engage

_So I was just kidding about these not going in order. They likely will, mostly because it's easier for me and I've had a few requests for it to stay in order. I'm not as happy with this chapter, but it's something. _

_Enjoy!_

_**002. engage - winter, 1889**_

Cheeks flushed and nose reddened from the cold, Helen crept around the side of Magnus manor, the place that had become her new home since her father had disappeared some time ago on his journey to Mecca, leaving his work in her capable hands. She trusted her father, and trusted that he knew what he was doing, so Helen tried to hide her concern and instead threw herself into his work and into her own work to distract herself. However, with James, Nigel, and Nikola spending the holidays with her on her insistence, work was mostly impossible. Instead she too was taking a break in order to spend the time with her friends.

Still, Nikola felt almost sorry for Helen at her father's sudden departure. Most of his efforts the past several days had been to keep her in a cheery mood. For the most part, it had worked, but every once in a while he caught her staring out the window rather solemnly. He hated seeing her in that sort of depression.

For now, however, he ws quite pleased that she was smiling and had been laughing moments ago. Now, she was his target.

He watched as she crept along the side of the house, toward the gardens, where he knew she thought him to be hiding. He'd really already looped back around the house and was now stalking her. Sometimes it really did pay to be a bloodthirsty vampire.

Smirking to himself, he continued to creep along behind her, steps making no noise in the snow in the ways that hers did, not to mention the way her dress rustled. Really, was she even trying to be sneaky? It made the game so much more unfair to her - but so much more fun for him.

Before she could get much further, she made her move. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he tackled her into the nearby snowbank despite her loud protests. He pinned her there easily enough, smirking as he hovered above her.

"Cheater." She accused, attempting to squirm out of his grasp. He kept her pinned, however, arching an eyebrow.

"How is it that I'm cheating?"

"Using your abilities!"

"Now, now. Just because you got an ability that isn't nearly as amazing as mine -." The rest of his words were cut off as Helen shoved a fistful of snow into his face. Using the distraction, she flipped them around so she was the one pinning him into the snow. Nikola's lips twitched, eyes narrowing for a moment.

"I assure you, I'm not jealous of your abilities one bit." She replied, smirking as she now held the upper hand. Or assumed she did. Nikola was content for a moment in letting her pin him to the snow. He was already formulating another plan; it was easy to overpower her, especially with his enhanced strength. He was momentarily distracted, however, when she bent her head to kiss him briefly.

"Now that's just playing dirty." Nikola accused now, flipping them again so Helen was the one lying in the snow. He didn't pin her long, however, and instead climbed to his feet and extended his hand to her. She grabbed it with a teasing glare and he pulled her to her feet.

"Come on. I have something to show you." He said suddenly and hooks his arm through hers. She arched a slender eyebrow, but said nothing. Nikola led her around the side of the house, making sure she didn't slip and fall on the ice that had formed during the night.

Around the front of the manor, Nikola smirked and Helen brightened considerably when she saw the sleigh that awaited her there, drawn by two white horses that nearly seemed to blend in with the snowy background. She studied it a long moment, taking in every detail before looking at Nikola.

"It's wonderful!"

"Good, because it's the only Christmas gift you're getting from me." He teased. She nudged him playfully in the side before she all but dragged him toward it, climbing into the sleigh. Blankets were there that he tossed over her - like he needed warmth as a vampire - before he snapped the reigns and propelled them forward.

"What's this all about, anyway?" Helen inquired suspiciously as they glided across the snow, across several of the open fields. Nikola glanced at her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"This is a bit uncharacteristic for you, Nikola. Far too uncharacteristic, which makes me think you're up to something again." Helen eyed him suspiciously. He only smiled more brilliantly.

"It's Christmas Eve, Helen. Just relax and enjoy it. I wasn't kidding when I said this was your only Christmas gift." He replied. She laughed and shook her head at him.

"You're impossible."

"I try."

She nudged him in the arm before she finally settled, much to his pleasure. If only she knew. He did in fact have ulterior motives, and she would know them soon enough. For now, however, he was content in watching the gears in her head turn. He knew it bothered her to death when she didn't know what was going on, and he intended to make sure she stayed in the dark about things for a bit. He hid a smirk and snapped the reigns again to pick up their pace.

"Can I have a hint?" Came the question a few moments later.

"No."

"Please?"

Dammit he hated that tone. She used it when she wanted something and Nikola normally gave in. This time, however, he intended to fight it.

"No."

"Nikola!"

"Helen."

She huffed, folded her arms across her chest, and sank a bit further into the seat. Stewing now, it appeared, and upset he wouldn't tell her. Oh well. She'd be over it soon enough.

He guided the horses to a remote location that he'd known about for quite some time now - a pond at the edge of one of the snow covered fields that led into the countryside. There were homes just on the other side of the groves of trees, but the lake was still technically on the property of the Magnus manor, which put it as their own.

Helen gave him a quizzical look as he stepped out of the sleigh and extended a hand to help her down. Once she was safely on the ground, he grabbed the ice skates from beneath one of the seats, dangling them from one finger with a smirk. Helen's face lit up as she grabbed the white pair she recognized as her own skates. Without bothering to wait for Nikola, she stepped toward the ice covered pond and sat down on a fallen log to change her shoes. Nikola chuckled and followed.

Helen was on the ice before him. She moved semi-gracefully, mostly because she'd only been ice skating a few times since it had become popular. Even she managed to make falling look graceful, however, so all was forgiven. Nikola watched her move over the ice, gaining her balance, adjusting to the skating in the dress she wore. He had to imagine it was much harder for ladies to skate with their impossible layers.

Soon enough, however, she was moving around the pond with ease, skates cutting a path across the uneven ice. Nikola continued to watch her as he laced up his own skates. Skating had become quite popular, he had noted, and he had figured it would be something nice for Helen on Christmas Eve. They could have gone to one of the public places, but Nikola preferred the quiet and didn't feel like contending with the children that were likely to be around.

He joined her on the ice a few moments laters. The movements were a lot easier for him, mostly because he possessed the perfect balance of a vampire and could move across the ice with little movement at all. Helen glared in an envious way as he approached, catching her just before she threatened to fall down again. Arm safely hooked around his, Nikola guided her around the pond in laps.

"So a sleigh ride and ice skating. You must really want something." Helen mused, glancing up at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He replied cautiously.

"Right. Let me guess. You've done something and you're doing this to soften the blow of telling me?" Helen continued, still smirking. Nikola rolled his eyes at her persistence.

"Nothing of the sort."

"What, then?"

"If you'd calm yourself, you might find out." He said as he pulled them to a stop. "You know I love you, right?"

A frown crossed Helen's face as she stared at him.

"You're leaving." She stated suddenly. He shook his head.

"Far from it, really." He murmured.

"Did you bring me out here to break up with me?"

"Are you going to keep assuming things or are you going to let me continue?" Nikola inquired. Helen opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but closed it a moment later into a thin-lipped look. He waited a moment to see if she was going to say anything else before he continued.

"Marry me."

This time her lips opened into slack-jawed shock, his words registering on her face. Disbelief followed shock.

"What?"

"I think it was a pretty simple statement - question, rather. I had a speech planned out but I'm afraid of attempting to get through it because you'd interrupt me. Simplicity is best, after all." He replied cheekily, withdrawing from his pocket the little box he had been carrying around for several days now for safe keeping.

He placed it in her gloved hand and watched as she opened it. He hated jewelery, but had made an exception for this particular ring, mostly because he have overseen it's manufacture to make sure no hands touched it without a layer of gloves between. It was silver, with a gathering of three (the only number he liked) diamonds. The band wasn't straight like most rings; instead it looked like a winding vine that, once worn, would give the appearance of wrapping around the finger.

"You're serious." Helen said. It was a statement, not a question, so Nikola merely nodded.

"My father -."

"Gave me his permission two days before he left." He smirked, always two steps ahead. Helen's gaze flickered up from the ring to look at him, almost as if she were waiting for him to suddenly laugh and say 'just kidding!'. While he would admit it would be like him to do so, Nikola was quite serious for this brief moment of time. In a few minutes it would likely be right back to his sarcastic and witty self.

"You've really thought of everything, then."

"And you're really stalling. It's a simple yes or no."

Helen studied him for a long moment before she tugged off her glove, removed the ring, and placed it on the appropriate finger. He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, smirking. He twirled her into a bit of a dance across the ice.

"See? Was that so hard?"

"You could have told me."

"And ruin the surprise?" He inquired as she glided along beside him, pulling her gloves back on so her hands didn't go numb in the cold. Nikola grabbed her by the waist and they spun until they were in the center of the pond.

"I thought you loved surprises."

"Only sometimes."

"And this one?"

Helen shrugged and leaned up to kiss him.

"I'll let you know."


	3. Waiting

_This one is a bit short, and may be slightly OCC. I tried at least. I hope it turned out all right! Thanks again for all the lovely reviews! I really enjoy reading them. Enjoy this - next one will be longer!_

_**003. waiting - winter, 1890**_

Nikola had been missing for three days.

He'd been off in London and had simply disappeared, or so it seemed. He hadn't returned hom and on the third day, James and Nigel had finally gone out to search for him, leaving Helen in a near panic attack at the manor. She kept blaming herself, knowing she should have gone with him. Something. Anything. But she hadn't and now he was likely hurt somewhere. He hadn't taken his medication in those three days, either, leaving her to fear he was going to go prey on a harmless London socialite. She should have noticed it earlier, really - from the sounds of it, he hadn't been taking his medication in quite some time.

He'd snapped.

She rested her head in her hands, still sitting on the bottom of the stairs that gave her perfect view of the entry hall. She'd been sitting there since James and Nigel had left, watching the door, waiting for them to return. It was well into the early morning of the fourth day since Nikola had gone missing and she was beside herself with worry. She wished she would have gone with the pair of them after her unruly vampire fiance, but Helen had been forced to remain behind to prepare a syringe full of an upped dosage of Nikola's normal medication, just in case he was in a frenzied state when he returned home.

Her fingers closed around the syringe on the step beside her. She brought it up to examine the liquid within it, a frown across her face. _Nikola . . . _

She wasn't going to let his ability overrun him. They had kept it at bay for a while, but it was clear to Helen she would need to develop a new version of his medication - or force him to take it. Why he had stopped taking it in the first place was beyond her. Helen was determined to not let his vampirism win - after all, she had done it to him. Turned him into what he was. While she knew he loved every minute of it, she still felt responsible as his doctor and his fiance that she had not noticed the signs of him not taking his medication. Aggression, irritability, aloofness - she had tried to brush it all off.

She'd already lost John to this. She wouldn't lose Nikola.

Clenching the syringe tight in one hand, Helen reached up with her other hand and pinched the bridge of her nose. What a mess this was. Nikola didn't deserve her if this was the way she was going to treat him for the next eternity. She'd been so caught up in catching up with work after the holidays that she hadn't even bothered to sit her fiance down and ask what the hell his problem was. Her stomach twisted into a tighter knot at the thought.

Voices outside the door caught her attention and her head snapped up as sit was flung open. James and Nigel were there, arms wrapped around either of Nikola's as he fought against their grasp. To Helen's mild horror, she saw that what was left of his clothes were positively soaked in blood. His eyes were completely black, wild, and deranged. She froze on the spot for a moment and he used the moment to break free from James and Nigel and launch himself toward her. Helen was pressed against the wall before she could think and a pair of fangs were deep within her neck.

James and Nigel were already reacting, but as was Helen. Syringe in hand, she plunged it into Nikola's chest and pressed the plunger down, trying to ignore the feelings of pleasure and pain that radiated from her neck. Almost instantly his fangs retracted and he stumbled back away from her. His eyes faded back to blue before his body dropped to the ground, unsconscious. She'd thrown in a sedative with the medication for this exact reason.

Helen grabbed her throat in an attempt to stop the bleeding occuring there. It burn, yet sent a chill down her spine when she touched it. Flinching, she tried to focus on Nikola's collapsed form.

"Helen," James began, concerned as he stepped over Nikola toward her. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine." She replied. "Take him downstairs into one of the containment units." Helen continued. The units were usually for her father's abnormals, but there were a few left empty that would due to hold Nikola until she was certain he wasn't about to attack anyone again. James looked hesitant, but he and Nigel complied.

As soon as they were gone, Helen sank back onto the stairs and pried her fingers away from the bite mark. They were sticky with her own blood. Part of her assumed it was what she got for not being more observant, and another part of her subconsciously related the attack to John's attempted attack of her. Nikola had promised once never to hurt her and she'd believed him. Helen was moreso trying to convince herself that it hadn't been his fault this time. It was merely his abilities taking over. Then again, hadn't the same thing been wrong with John?

Feeling sicker than she had before, Helen didn't say anything when James and Nigel returned upstairs, James taking her by the hand and leading her into the parlor where a drink was pushed into her hand. James examined the bite and managed to get it to stop bleeding.

"Are you truly all right, Helen?" James asked quietly as he cleaned the blood off her neck. She knew the double meaning behind his words.

"It's not the first time he's bitten me." She replied quietly.

"Yes, but he attacked you."

"He wasn't in his right mind." Helen defended flatly. James arched an eyebrow at her and she shook her head. "We all have our faults. I love him, James, and that's not going to change because of one incident. I'm going to let him cool down and sleep off that sedative and then we're going to discuss things civilly. He's going to be quite unhappy with himself once he realizes he's bit me and I think that's punishment enough for him." She took a drink of tea from the mug in her hands.

"Besides, it's partially my own fault. I should have recognized the signs earlier and I didn't. He got this way because I failed."

"Stop blaming yourself, Helen." James said kindly. Helen rolled her shoulders to free them of some tension, but it seemed like the knots just worked themselves in tighter. She flinched.

"I can't help it, James. I'm going to make it up to him somehow, eventually. Right now I need to work on developing higher dosages of medication for him for the time being. I'm going to make sure he takes it even if I have to shove it down his throat."

James and Nigel, who lingered by the fireplace, both chuckled.

"Good luck with that plan." Nigel said, shaking his head. Helen gave him a thin-lipped smile as James continued to clear away her neck .

She'd wanted to wait until the morning to check on Nikola, but when Helen lay down that evening without his presence in the other side of the bed, and knowing he was just floors beneath her feet, she couldn't stand it. She needed to talk to him. Smooth it out. More of just missing him. It's been a torturous last few days without him and she'd gotten little sleep. So without further ado, Helen wrapped a robe over her nightclothes and headed barefoot downstairs, her way lit with a candle in her hand.

She heard James and Nigel talking softly in the parlor; she crept by with her candle and down into the basement. The creatures would be sleeping - most of them would be anyway - so she silently padded by their containments as well, toward the other end of the basement. She could hear the sounds of pacing and every once in a while an uttered Serbian swearword that nearly made her turn red.

Her hand hesitated on the doorknob for a long moment before she unlocked it and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

The candle illuminated the small, unfurnished room. Nikola stood near the far wall, staring at Helen, face paler than normal in the soft light. As far as she could tell, however, his eyes were their normal blue.

"Helen." He spoke, as if surprised to see her. His face formed something of confusion. "Why am I down here?" She frowned.

"Because James and Nigel dragged you in here after you'd been missing for nearly four days." Helen stated. "You're covered in blood. We put you in here for safe keeping until your medication kicked in." She continued. He stepped toward her then, frowning.

"There's something you're not telling me."

"Why did you stop taking your medication?" She inquired, changing the subject. He frowned further.

"Must have . . . slipped my mind." He replied, somewhat honestly. "I've been distracted by an invention."

Helen couldn't help but utter a small laugh, purely because it was so . . . _Nikola_. It took her a moment to realize she was shaking; she set the candle on the ground to prevent it from sliding out of her hand. Nikola stepped forward and closed the distance between them again; Helen had to refrain from staring at the blood splatters on his shirt.

"What happened, Nikola?" She asked softly, somewhat afraid of the answer.

"I left for London." He began quietly. "Without my medication something just . . . snapped. It happened before I could stop myself - I didn't hurt anyone, though." His brow furrowed. "I went into the forest and slaughtered several animals. Unfortunately animal blood isn't as satisfying. James and Nigel found me as I was beginning to wander into London in search of something else . . . ." His gaze flickered up to her. "I'm sorry, Helen."

"You're lucky James and Nigel found you then, so no one was hurt." She said, somewhat curtly. The frown remained on Nikola's face as he studied her. With a gentle touch, he reached out and brushed her hair to one side, exposing the newly healed bite mark that adorned her neck. His face went from confusion to something akin to horror, then to deep regret all in a matter of seconds. Helen could hardly keep track. He frowned and opened his mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it and stepped back, shutting his eyes.

"I hurt you."

"It was an accident."

"I _bit you_, Helen."

"Not on purpose, Nikola. It's partially my fault, anyway." She waved a dismissive hand at him. He shook his head, hands clenching into fists at his side.

"You're acting as if it's completely normal." He stated in a quiet tone.

"You're a vampire, Nikola. I'd be kidding myself if I didn't say I was expecting it sooner or later. It'll heal, scar, and no harm will be done." Helen said, hand drifting to it. Touching it still made her flinch slightly. Despite the fact, she closed the distance between her and Nikola again, this time wrapping her arms around him so he couldn't pull away. Her head rested against his chest as she clung to him, nearly like a lifeline. She was far too forgiving, but like hell she'd let Nikola take all of the blame for this one.

"We're both at fault, so let's just get over it and move on." She murmured, voice mildly muffled by his shirt. She was suddenly aware that he was still covered in dried blood because of the rusty smell that entered her nostrils. She wrinkled her face in mild disgust.

"You need a bath."

Nikola said nothing and Helen pulled away, studying him. He continued to stare at her as if in some sort of stupor.

"Nikola, darling, stop this." She said quietly, reaching up to rest a hand against his cheek. He tried to pull away, but his shirt was fisted in her hand so she could easily keep him rooted to the spot.

"I promised once Helen, never to hurt you. I broke that. I'm no better than Druitt." He spoke between clenched teeth. Helen grabbed his jaw a bit more firmly and pulled his head down so he was forced to look at the semi-livid look that had flared to life on her face.

"You are far better than John, Nikola. In so many ways. We all have our faults and just because yours happens to be sharp teeth and a bit of a hostile nature at times doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. I should have recognized the signs myself but I was caught up in my work, and I promise that will never happen again." Helen spoke, searching his face for some sort of reaction.

"I love you, Nikola Tesla, and nothing will ever change that. Understand me?"

He was silent a long moment, then:

"I don't deserve you." He murmured and finally relented, taking her by the hand. She wrapped her fingers tightly within his.

"Yes, you do. Stop lying." Helen demanded of him. "You were my first friend, the one who saw me for who I truly was those first weeks at Oxford. You've supported me through what I deem to be one of the worst times in my life, and you are the man I'm going to marry."

He blinked, a blank expression across his face.

"Are you done?"

"For the moment, yes." She stated.

"Good. Because I'm very tired and would like to change clothes."

Helen felt a grin spread across her face as he embraced her, the pair of them standing there for a long moment. She didn't care she would have a scar on her neck. If they were going to spend eternity together, they were going to have to get it together sometime soon, and Helen was more than willing to forgive him for the little . . _. love bite_. Despite that's far from what it was, it didn't matter.

Sighing in mild relief, she released him suddenly and wrinkled her nose.

"If you think you're coming to bed smelling like that, I hope you enjoy sleeping on the floor."


	4. Rise

_I promised something longer and this is definately not it. I'm not happy with this one at all, but I couldn't really decide what to write for this one. It's just a bit of morning fluff to tide you guys over until the next chapter. _

_Thanks for the reviews!_

_**004. rise - spring, 1890**_

Nikola had fallen into a morning routine with Helen. Since he needed very little sleep, he merely waited until she woke up before beginning his day and settling into the familiar and somewhat humble routine. It reminded him vaguely of the early mornings they would all gather in the lab. The five of them had developed a routine so they were never bumping into each other, always moving with some fluidity about the room. His and Helen's morning routine now mirrored it.

As the sun began to filter through the curtains of her room, Helen stirred against his side. Her arm was still thrown across him and her head rested on his shoulder, the exact position she had fallen asleep in. Nikola hadn't moved during the night, either.

"Good morning." He greeted as Helen sighed heavily, a sure-sign that she was awake (and likely didn't want to be).

"Don't let Mary catch you in here." She muttered and he chuckled at the mention of one of the few staff members that Helen still kept employed in the manor. They were needed, of course, but Helen had mostly a skeleton cast of staff. They were priveledged to know bits and pieces about the work she and her father kept up in the basement level, and they understood the unique situations that surrounded the remaining four that stayed within the manor. Helen had only felt comfortable with the few of the staff knowing - any more and she was afraid they'd be spreading it all over London.

And so began their morning routine. They had an entire time to themselves before breakfast, something he looked forward to during the night while she slept.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she buried her face into his side, likely trying to will herself back into some semblence of sleep. Some mornings she succeeded, but more often than not she would realize that the day needed to begin and awoke with minor grumbling. Nikola merely smiled the entire time; sometimes it felt nice not to need sleep.

"Are you getting up this morning?"

"Working on it." She murmured, slowly pushing away from Nikola to avoid temptation. Her eyes finally opened and she gave him a tired smile. "Good morning."

She stretched, much like a cat, back arching as she rolled over onto her stomach. Her legs tangled momentarily within the blankets as she struggled to pull herself from the last clutches of sleep.

"Remind me again why we get up this early?"

"You generally want to be up because you have work to do." Nikola replied seriously and she threw him a glare - rather, half a glare since part of her face was hidden by the pillow and her hair. There was something beautiful about the way she looked in the mornings, he noted for not the first time. Yes, he could definately get used to an eternity of waking up next to her as his wife.

"I just want to stay in bed today." She complained.

"You have a meeting with James to attend. Something about funding."

"Don't want to go."

She rolled to lay on top of him , chin resting on his chest. He reached up and combed his fingers through her tangled curls and she sighed softly, looking as if she could indeed fall back to sleep at any moment. Helen leaned up to kiss him. He responded appropriately, before he trailed a line of kisses down her neck. His lips hit the bite mark there and he lingered in that spot for a long moment, delighting in the goosebumps that appeared along Helen's arms. He smirked, his human teeth grazing the spot momentarily before he released her.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Helen." He warned.

"We could always stay in bed all day." She teased.

"You have that meeting today and the theater tonight."

Suddenly her face brightened and she sat up, brushing hair out of her face.

"I forgot that was today." She admitted, glancing toward the window as if she was afraid it was already far too late in the day. The sun had just risen not too long ago and her meeting was at lunchtime, Nikola knew, so she had plenty of time to his knowledge.

"Don't forget the pigeons this morning." He reminded her and she nodded. Another part of their morning routine was to feed the pigeons the so often lurked in the garden, just below Helen's bedroom window. The cook had started sending up stale bread with their breakfasts upon Nikola's request.

There was a knock at the door and Helen called for them to enter, knowing it would be breakfast. Mary didn't usually appear until later in the morning to help Helen dress, and by that time Nikola was long gone. The older man that brought breakfast gave them both a smile as he deposited the tray on the corner of the bed like every morning, leaving as silently as he had come.

Helen shifted carefully on the bed and reached for the nightstand drawer, pulling out a packet of powder that Nikola was already wrinkling his nose at. She dumped it into the glass of wine that was on the tray and used the fork to stir it around before handing it to him.

"Bottoms up, darling."

The powder was the medication that Helen made sure he took every morning to curb his bloodlust. He hated the taste and wine was the only thing strong enough to mask the disgusting taste. Helen licked the fork clean before she began to nibble on her breakfast. Nikola swirled the wine in the glass for a moment before he took a long drink of it, under Helen's careful gaze.

"If you keep staring at me, I might spontaneously combust."

She smirked and took another bite of eggs.

"Cheeky."

"I try."

He drank the wine quickly, the faint taste of the medication still on his tongue when he set the glass aside. Helen finished off less than half of her breakfast before she moved the tray to a side table near the door. Nikola was finally moving out of bed, taking the few slices of bread she handed him that had come up with the tray.

Still in her dressing gown, Helen kneeled on the window seat and threw open the windows, brushing curtains aside. Nikola sank into the cushions of the seat as well, leaning over the side. Sure enough, there were the pigeons he and Helen had dubbed as 'theirs'. Nikola crumbled the bread in his hands and sprinkled it over the side, watching as it fell onto the grass below. The birds instantly swarmed around it.

"Think this is how we'll spend every morning?" Helen asked, a half smile on her face as she glanced over at Nikola. He shrugged.

"Depends on how much you think North America is like this." He replied. She stared at him a long moment, confusion marring her face before she realized what he was saying.

"You want to move there?"

"I figured we might eventually. Perhaps not for a while yet, but eventually." He muttered, leaning against the window sill. "You can show off your creatures and I can show off my inventions."

Helen smiled faintly and scattered more breadcrumbs outside of the window, watching as the pigeons fluttered around below. Her gaze flickered to where the sun was still rising, casting a variety of colors all across the sky as it continued to lighten. It was promising to be a beautiful day, at least. Perhaps he'd throw open the windows in the study while he researched today. What else was he supposed to do while James and Helen were off at their meeting? He certainly wasn't going to go with them.

It was all rather domestic, really, their mornings, and Nikola found it quite odd indeed. Throughout Oxford he had done as he wished and reported to the lab when they had all agreed. He'd never thought himself to be such a domestic man in the near future at that point in time, but here he was. He didn't mind it much, but he felt so . . . normal. And he knew he was anything but.

"Guess I'd better get ready. James'll want to leave soon." Helen sighed. "Mary will be here soon. You'd better go."

"There will come a time when I will get to spend the entire morning with my fiance." Nikola muttered. Helen smirked and kissed him briefly.

"Only when I'm your wife."

Pressing another kiss to her forehead, Nikola returned to his room just down the hall. He stayed the nights with Helen on her insistence. He had never pressed his advantage with her, of course, and their nights were always spent talking until Helen fell asleep. He was there merely as a security measure. While it was entirely improper, Nikola cared not.

In his room he found a hot bath had been drawn and one of his more favorite suits lay across the un-slept in bed. Yes, he was quite aware that most of the staff knew he spent his nights with Helen, but the lady that helped Helen dress every morning, Mary, was not afraid of chewing him out for inappropriateness everytime he'd been caught in her room.

Which had only been twice, thank you very much.

He stripped, bathed, and changed into the suit that had been set out. Thankfully spring had finally arrived and he could start wearing the cooler suits he'd had to forgo for appearances during the winter. Satisfied with his appearance in the mirror, he ventured into the hall.

He picked up voices from downstairs, distinctly male, so Nikola knew James and Nigel were already awake as well. Sometimes he swore they were up all night (which was entirely possible) with the hour they were awake in the mornings. Helen was not likely ready yet, so he ventured downstairs toward the parlor.

"Morning, Tesla." Nigel greeted almost gruffly as he entered. He and James were both pouring over the newspaper.

"Do you two purposefully wake up with the roosters?" Nikola inquired.

"We were up all night finishing a project." James replied. "Whatever it is that you're working on down there nearly got pitched out the window because it shocked me three times when I had to move it out of the way." He continued. Nikola smirked.

"Don't try to move my inventions, then." He replied as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. James gave him an annoyed look that Nikola pointedly ignored. The three fell into a comfortable silence until Helen graced the room with her presence.

"Good morning, gentlemen." She greeted, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek as another morning greeting as she appeared. "Ready to go, James? Don't want to keep our potential future patrons waiting." She smiled brilliantly.

"Ready when you are."

"Let's take our leave, then." She said. James got to his feet and folded the newspaper, setting it on the edge of the coffee table. Helen smiled and bid goodbye to Nigel, allowing Nikola to escort her into the entry-way, which was only a few steps away.

"Have fun with your research." She grinned at Nikola, kissing him again. Nikola smirked.

"Have a good day at work."

Yes, he was definately going to get used to these particular mornings.


	5. Barren

_Thanks for the reviews! Here's the next installment. _

_Also, you may notice my writings have little to do with the prompts - but the prompts are there, very subtly. I promise. _

_Enjoy!_

_**005. barren - 1890, spring**_

Helen bit down on her lip as she worked, elbow deep into an autopsy. The poor creature now cut open on the metal table in her basement had been sick the past few weeks and had finally died, despite Helen's attempts to save it. She wasn't entire sure what it was other than a semi-adorable creature, as her father's notes on it had been vague. He'd been researching it at the time of his existence and Helen had started to, but then it had fallen sick and her research on it had ceased while she tried to cure it.

Clearly, it hadn't worked out well.

Her hair pulled back and a borrow apron covering her dress, Helen dug deeper, moving side organs that she didn't need to get to in order to get to one of the two stomachs of the creature. She'd hoped the stomach contents would reveal it's mysterious sickness, since her original diagnosis had clearly been wrong. Therefore, the medication she'd given the creature hadn't worked and it'd succumbed.

"You could warn someone when you're doing that, you know." Nikola drawled as he entered the room, looking at the autopsy with a look of utter digust. Helen didn't look up.

"I told you this morning I had an autopsy to do and it was going to take me a while." She replied, carefully removing one stomach. She heard Nikola make a near retching noise. "Funny how you can stand drinking blood when the need arises, but you can't handle this."

Nikola didn't respond, but instead moved around the edge of the room, as far away from Helen and her work as possible, until he reached the other lab table in the corner of the room. While one side served as a medical lab or sorts, the other served as Nikola's invention workplace. Helen heard him start tinkering with his toys behind her with a half smile on her face - he was going to be a great inventor, she knew.

Helen returned to her work at hand, removing the second stomach. Then she could open them and find out just what else her little pet had been digesting. As she cut the second one free, movement further down in the body of the creature caught her attention and she frowned. Shoving aside the spiral intestines and the heart - what an odd location for the heart - she investigated further.

"Nikola, come here a moment." Helen said as she prodded what was supposed to be unmmoving flesh. The creature was large and dead and was not supposed to be moving, yet something inside of it was.

"I'd rather not." He replied dryly.

"There's something -!" The last of her words were cut off as a vile substance suddenly exploded from the body and covered her. Splattered across her face, hair, neck, and torso, Helen stood very still for a moment with her lips pressed into a tight line. Nikola was clearly trying to stifle laughter in the background. She reached up and removed some of the slime substance from her eyes so she could open them properly, childishly flinging some of it at Nikola. He dodged it with ease as she turned back to her work.

"Disgusting." She muttered and pried open the tissue again to see where the slime had come from - it wasn't burning so Helen didn't percieve it as a threat just yet. To her surprise, however, something else rather large came flying out of the open body and latched itself onto Helen, sending her sprawling to the ground. She let out a strangled noise as whatever it was pinned her to the ground.

For a moment her vision was nothing but a blur of slime, but she eventually made out the clear form of a creature on top of her. It was smaller in size to the one she had been operating on, but it was clearly the same type of creature. Large fangs, black eyes, and claws that were none-to-kindly digging in rather sharply. It wasn't heavy, but it had startled her enough to knock her down.

"Nikola, assistance please!" Helen called when the creature didn't seem intent on moving anytime soon. Nikola, who had watched the entire affair with an arched eyebrow, now moved over to Helen. Not one to deny her, he attempted to tug the creature off of her.

"Come on beastie. Off the pretty lady. She's mine."

Helen hissed as the creature's claw dug further into her skin.

"Stop!" She ordered and Nikola ceased, frowning. Helen reached up with a cautious touch and rubbed the creature's fur. It let out a low whine and licked her face. Helen made a slight face, but tried ot push her mild disgust away as she carefully shifted the creature to lie on her legs so she could at least sit up. Almost instantly it curled up on her legs, almost posessively.

"Oh, this is funny." Nikola chuckled. Helen, still attempting to wipe some of the slime off of her, glared up at him.

"I don't find anything about the situation funny."

"The creature thinks your it's mother, Helen." He replied, the smile still on his lips. Helen looked from Nikola to the creature in her lap. She felt her gaze soften as she reached out with a slimey hand and stroked it's fur again. It proceeded to curl as close as possible to her. Helen sighed and hooked her arms beneath it. It didn't protest this time as she stood, happily adjusting to curling up in her arms instead, it's head lolling against her shoulder. It was like a large dog, Helen noted with some displeasure. She'd always been a cat person.

"This shouldn't have been possible." Helen muttered, looking and feeling uncomfortable with the creature in her arms. "According to my father's notes and what I was able to gather myself, this creature isn't supposed to be able to reproduce. Not to mention we didn't even have a male for it to produce with. They're supposed to be barren and infertile - it's why they're nearly extinct as it is."

"Well your father apparently lied." Nikola stated, leaning against his lab table as he watched her with an amused expression, despite the glare she was drilling into his skull.

"You could help me with this, you know!"

"You know, I think it has your eyes."

Helen didn't dignify him with a response as the door opened and in swept James, frowning.

"I heard yelling." He said slowly, noting the creature that now clung to Helen.

"Because apparently our little pet here could reproduce and didn't know it. Asexual reproduction isn't uncommon, but I wasn't entirely prepared for this thing to pop out at me during an autopsy." Helen muttered. "James, help. Please. Nikola's useless."

Nikola made an undignified sound to Helen's left as James nodded, moving forward.

"I wouldn't do that." Nikola warned as James latched onto the creature and attempted to pull it away from Helen. The creature hissed violently and spat at James, clinging tighter to Helen's body. She flinched as the claws continued to dig in.

"If you were a child just brought into the world, would you really want to be seperated from the first thing that you saw and assumed to be your mother?" Nikola muttered. Helen saw amusement flicker in James' eyes.

"Don't you even dare." Helen warned moodily, still covered in the slime. She opened her mouth to ask James what she should really do about it, but the creature in her arms squirmed and jumped from her arms to Nikola's. Nikola flailed in an attempt to catch it, taking his turn to hiss when the claws dug into his skin.

"Oh, so now I'm it's father? Just perfect." Nikola muttered. "Get it off!"

"I think it has your fangs." Helen replied cheekily. "I need to get this off before it has any lasting effects. You two please deal with that." She waved her hand at the creature before she headed for the door, mildly agitated at herself for not noticing the situation sooner. Sure, she was honored to be a surrogate mother to some odd little creature that was probably the last of it's existence, but she wasn't happy that she was covered in . . . she didn't even want to think about what it was.

One of her maids drew her a hot bath and she nearly scrubbed her skin raw in and washed her hair through multiple times. Afterward, Mary helped her dress in a different outfit before Helen returned downstairs, praying that they had the problem solved.

Considering Nikola was playing fetch with the creature across the room when she entered, Helen wasn't quite sure if the situation was resolved or not. James was peeling off a pair of gloves and tossing them in the trash as she entered.

"I finished the autopsy and it seems that not only is this particular creature asexual and capable of reproducing on it's own, but it's meant to die during pregnancy." James said as she approached. "I guess the baby normally claws it's way out after the mother dies."

"If it expects it's mother to be dead then why has it attached itself to me?"

"Likely because you're the first thing it saw and you were covered in the mother's scent with that slime. Since it saw Nikola as the only other male in the room, it latched on to him as the father." James continued.

"Funny. I wasn't expecting to have kids for a while." Helen muttered, shaking her head. "So can we simply contain it?"

"If you can get it away from either of you two long enough, one of the simple containment units down the hall should work" James replied. She nodded and looked toward where Nikola was throwing an old piece of metal across the room and letting the creature run and bring it back.

"Nikola, it's going to cut it's mouth to pieces biting down on that metal." Helen stated, then nearly regretted her decision. The creature seemed to recognize her voice and gave up instantly on its game in favor of nearly bowling her over. It's claws scraped at the bottom of her dress and rather than have to have it mended, she picked the creature up and held it once more. As before, it snuggled into her embrace. Helen sighed.

"I never imagined us being parents so soon, my dear." Nikola teased. "Why didn't you tell me you were expecting?"

"Nikola, I swear I will hit you."

"You can't. You're holding the baby."

"James, hit him for me."

James merely chuckled in response, shaking his head at the pair of them. They were already bickering like a married couple.

"Here. You take the thing." Helen held it out to Nikola.

"I'm surprised, Helen. Your parenting skills are less than perfect, especially to Junior here." He said. "It doesn't want me to hold it anyway. It's all yours."

Helen bit back a growl of irritation and frustration before she began to walk toward the containment units just down the hall and behind another door. She passed the usual creatures and entered the containment room that she had kept the poor thing's mother in. The creature in her arms seemed to recognize a change in scenery and curled in on itself in her arms.

"It's okay, little one." Helen's voice soothed, much calmer than it had been moments before. "This is your new home, all right? We're going to keep you safe and well here." She continued. The creature began to relax a bit more in her arms as she went further into the containment cell. The creature stared at her with it's wide white eyes as if begging her to take it somewhere else. The face nearly pulled at her heartstrings, but she needed it to be contained and not attached to her.

The creature allowed her to put it down on the ground. It sniffed at the air, seemingly recognizing it's mother's faint scent, before it began to slowly prowl around the room. Helen took the oppourtunity to step out of the room before the creature could attach itself to her again.

"I don't know how I'm going to study it if it's going to cling to me every time I enter the room." Helen muttered as she rejoined Nikola and James. Nikola smirked at her.

"Don't you like being a mother, Helen? I always thought you were so good with kids."

"Don't push it. You're already on my list." Helen threatened, shaking a finger at him.

"So does this mean we get joint custody?"

"Nikola!" She snapped. He merely grinned at her in response. She pinched the bridge of her nose and he looped his arm through hers.

"I think you've derserved a break." He mused, tugging her toward the stairs. James had already returned upstairs, likely tired of their bickering, or off to tell Nigel what had occured. Helen let Nikola lead her upstairs by the arm.

"You know, I always imagined our children to be a little less . . . furry." He mused and Helen had to refuse the urge to tell him off.

"I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

"I always assumed we had to have the discussion sooner or later." Nikola shrugged as he led her into the smaller parlor, where tea was waiting. Helen swore some of her staff were omnipotent, always knowing when Helen needed tea.

"What discussion?" She inquired, snatching up one of the tea cups. Nikola rolled his eyes, mustache twitching as his lips did. Helen really wished he would shave the thing. It didn't suit him as well as it once had and it tickled her face whenever she kissed him.

"Children. My lucky number is three -."

"Nikola!" Helen laughed. "We are not having this discussion today. I am tired and I still smell like that . . . slime." She stated, falling into the cushions. Nikola flicked her skirts out of the way and sat down beside her, smirking.

"What? Don't enjoy the thought of pro-creating?"

"You're pushing it again." She warned lightly, regarding him over the rim of her tea cup. The idea of children did sound lovely to Helen, really, but she had far too many things she wished to accomplish before she even thought about them. She knew Nikola did to, if his inventions were any sort of clue. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure the side-effects the Source Blood would have on any children she decided to have.

"Shall we just work on the pro-creating part first, then?" He grinned. Helen nudged him, teasingly.

"I'm afraid we'll have to get married first."

"Let's go right now then."

"You're hopeless, Nikola." Helen shook her head at her fiance, but graced him with a kiss on the cheek.

"You love me anyway."

"You're damned lucky I do." She smirked wickedly. "And because I love you so much, you get to go downstairs and attempt to feed that creature tonight."


	6. I'm Here

006. i'm here - spring, 1890

Nightmares were not something that normally plagued Helen, Nikola knew, but for the past few nights she had been troubled by them. Tonight was no different, and the thunderstorm raging outside wasn't helping. Beside him, Helen had pulled from his usual embrace in favor of tossing and turning across the blankets, twisting herself further into them and only restricting her further. Nikola didn't dare wake her, but managed to keep her from suffocating herself by pulling away the sheets when they got too close. She mumbled things beneath her breath that not even he could make out with his advanced senses. It was frustrating to know he couldn't help her in any other way.

Halfway through the night with a particularly bright flash of lightning, she suddenly jerked up, screaming horrifically. Nikola followed and wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her, but Helen still seemed lashed within the nightmare to some point as she tried in vain to shove him harshly away, yelling at him and pounding on his chest.

"Helen." Nikola said firmly. "Helen, stop this, it isn't real." He tried to sooth her, watching as recognition came over her face and she paled slightly, and then flushed with near embarrassment. She wrapped her arms tight around him in return, burying her face in his chest.

"I'm right here, Helen. I promise. I'm not going anywhere." He calmed her quietly, trailing fingers through her long golden curls. Helen sniffled against his chest, trying very hard to keep it together. Nikola was very aware someone else in the house had likely heard her screams and would be coming to investigate shortly. Likely James, who was also not aware that Nikola slept with Helen during the evenings. She pushed lightly on his chest.

"Go. Give me five minutes." She whispered and he nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead before he quickly retreated to what were his own quarters. Not a second later, with his advances senses he could hear heavy footsteps in the hallway that clearly belonged to James. Quickly, Nikola ruffled his hair slightly and untucked his shirt and the like, making it seem as if he had just woken up. Voices sounded in the hall, including Helen's soft voice, and Nikola took his chance by stepping out into the hall, a tired and confused expression on his face.

"I thought I heard screaming . . . ?" He muttered, furrowing his brow as he approached James, who lingered in the hall outside of Helen's bedroom door. She had wrapped herself up in a thick robe to at least appear decent, and glanced from James over to the mussed Nikola.

"I was just having a bad dream, Nikola, it was nothing. Go back to sleep." Helen responded curtly, before her gaze flickered back to James.

"Are you certain you're all right, Helen?" James asked and she nodded.

"I'll be fine. You go back to sleep as well. Big day tomorrow." She gave a faint smile and a yawn. James nodded, gave another curt nod to Nikola, before he disappeared back down the hall to his study, likely up late again studying. Helen's gaze met Nikola's and he counted a solid ten seconds before he crossed the rest of the way to her door and slipped back inside her bedroom. Helen's arms wrapped tightly around his waist and he pulled her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"It was just a dream, love." He muttered, gathering her in his arms and carrying her back to bed.

"It was him." She whispered into his chest as he tucked her in, much like a child. She sat up the instant he had tugged blankets over her and had crawled back into bed with her. Nikola reached up, cupping her cheek and running his thumb along her skin.

"He can't hurt you, Helen. He's dead. Gone. You're safe, I promise." Nikola said and she leaned into his touch, nodding with a heavy sigh.

"I still see him. That damned menacing look of his – part of me feels as if he is still alive, waiting for his chance."

"And if that's the case he'll never lay a hand on you." Nikola replied, a bit more harshness in his voice than he intended. Of course it was directed toward John – even if the man was dead, he still hated the creep. What he'd done, the emotional damage he had done to Helen; it was never to be forgiven. While Helen had forever to get over it, Nikola doubted she'd be able to for quite some time yet.

"Thank you, Niko." Helen smiled faintly, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek. She settled back against the pillows, waiting for him to settle as well before she curled against him, as always, and worked on getting back to sleep. He traced circles across her back in a soothing pattern, hoping it would help.

It continued to storm outside, thunder rumbling and lightning flashing while Nikola remained awake. He slept very little, of course, and he intended to be awake should Helen slip into her nightmares again. She seemed relatively calm, however, her hand resting across his chest possessively and her face at ease in her sleep. His fingers moved up from her back to trail gently through the golden curls fanned out across the pillow.

There was a flash and Nikola felt his body react instinctively before his mind caught up to realize John Druitt had just materialized in front of him at the foot of the bed. He was soaking wet, hair plastered across his face. Beside him, Helen slept on, unaware of the intruder. A low growl escaped Nikola's lips.

"You're meant to be dead, Druitt." Nikola muttered in a low tone and John chuckled.

"I'm meant to be a lot of things, Tesla, though dead is not one of them." His gaze drifted to Helen. "Enjoying her toying with your affections?"

"Keep talking about her and I'll rip your vocal chords out and shove them somewhere you won't really enjoy." Nikola threatened, voice dropping an octave as his eyes swirled to a nasty looking black in color. "So please, continue, and give me an excuse to kill you again."

Beneath his hand he felt Helen's breathing shift and her heart rate sky-rocket in such a way that he knew she was awake. He continued to glare at John, however, merely waiting. The taller man snarled.

"As much as I'd love to fight you, I don't think dear Helen would take too kindly to that. Nor James, just down the hall. I'm afraid our duel shall have to wait, old boy." John stated, drumming his fingers along the cane he carried in his left hand, where Nikola was more than aware he carried a knife, prepared to kill at all times.

"Afraid to be out numbered? How very unlike you. Then again, since Helen did take you down last time, I can only imagine what the four of us could do to you in return. Not to mention what Gregory intends to do to you when he returns from his trip – you should have stayed dead. You'd be better off." Nikola replied sharply. John chuckled.

"You're delusional if you think any of you will be touching me again." He replied.

"And you're still the same insanely-posessed freak we know and hate. Take your threats somewhere else, John." Nikola's tone was starting to grow a bit louder, threatening on his own. Helen shook against him, trembling almost in a way. Gently he ran his thumb across her back, comforting her as far as he dared while John was in the room.

"Your day will come, Tesla, as will Helen's. You can't play house forever." Another growl and he disappeared again, clearly only there to instigate for the time being, and make his presence known. Nikola's eyes turned back to their blue shade. Beside him, Helen shifted and rolled over, staring at the top of her four poster bed with watery eyes and her teeth biting down hard on her lower lip. Nikola sank lower onto the bed and moved to draw her back into his embrace, but she moved away.

"Don't." She murmured, before climbing out of bed all together. She tugged her robe back on from before and paced beside the bed a fleeting moment. Nikola sat up and watched her with a heavy sigh.

"It will be all right, Helen. We've fought him before and we'll do it again. He won't get to you." He said carefully and Helen shook her head.

"I can't stay here any longer, Nikola. He'll come after me, after you. I have to leave London." Helen said suddenly, stopping to look at him with her still watery gaze. "I have to go." She moved to her wardrobe, but Nikola reached over and caught her wrist.

"You're being irrational."

"No, I'm not!" She jerked her wrist away. "He's going to murder me, Nikola, and will not stop until he's through. He'll go through you and James and anyone else he has to in order to get to me. I have to leave London, go somewhere and hide away where he can't find me. I won't have him hurting you or James or Nigel over me. Not now and not bloody ever."

"Helen!" Nikola said, a bit louder and harsher to grab her attention more fully. He climbed off the bed and took both her hands in his. "Listen to yourself. You can't just run and hide away from him. You're the safest here, with us, with me." He insisted, hands switching to cradle either side of her face. "I love you, Helen Magnus, and no teleporting idiot is going to hurt you on my watch. Tomorrow morning I'll start work on something to keep him away, out of the house. I'll travel with you everywhere now if I have to – if anything it gives me an excuse to spend more time with you."

Helen gave a weak smile in response. Nikola brushed his thumbs across her cheeks, wiping away the tears that had managed to escape from her eyes. Her hands came up to close over his, peeling them away from her face in favor of linking their fingers together.

"I believe you. I just don't want to see you hurt."

"I'll be completely fine. Takes more to kill a vampire, of course." He gave a lopsided grin, leaning forward to capture her lips in a kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer until the need for air was apparent. He pulled her into his embrace, hugging her tightly, head resting atop hers.

"Now, will you finally go to sleep? You'll be falling asleep at the table tomorrow if you don't."

"Only if you sleep with me."

"Gladly." He smirked and she rolled her eyes, pressing a hand against his chest.

"Don't make me kick you out, Nikola. Go to bed."

"With pleasure." He grinned again and wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, lifting her up and proceeding to dump her onto the bed, earning a plethora of giggles from her. As promised, he crawled back into bed and gave her no chance to escape, choosing to draw her instantly into his embrace with her back to his chest, one leg thrown over both of hers possessively.

"So you can't escape on me." He offered as explanation.

"If I wanted to escape I would have done it by now, idiot." She muttered, but made no move to protest his current embrace. "Goodnight, Nikola."

"Goodnight, Helen."

There was a long pause.

"Nikola, if your hand goes any higher on my chest, I will rob you of any and all equipment it takes to procreate."


	7. Message

_**007. message – summer, 1890**_

"Ms. Magnus, please hold still."

Helen looked down at the young girl who was attending to a bit of lace on what was to be her wedding dress. It had been custom made for her, designed to mirror her mother's and despite her protests, very white. Her initial idea had been to say to hell with tradition and simply wear something crimson, but Nikola had insisted on doing things properly, if only for James, Nigel, and what few other friends they had, including Helen's family. While it had been clear her father was not returning any time soon, Helen simply wanted to get the wedding over and done with. Lavish parties were still not her thing, even if they were her own wedding.

"Apologies, Beth." Helen smiled at her as she flipped through the book in her hand, reading silently while they touched up her dress before she made her grand debut in it. Helen supposed she was supposed to be far more excited on her wedding day, but she was trying very hard not to be nervous. Truth be told she was quite worried John would make an unexpected appearance, or something would go wrong, because she was quite certain that was just how her life went. So far things had developed smoothly and gone off without a hitch, or so she'd been told. Maids had come and gone all day from her room, flittering about and making sure everything was absolutely perfect downstairs.

"I found this in the attic, Ms. Magnus, while I was looking for your shoes. It looks promising." Another maid came into her bedroom, holding a slender box. Helen looked up from her book again, trying very hard to keep still under Beth's hands as she worked away at the lace along the bottom of her dress. Mary handed her the box and Helen ran her fingers across the box with a slight frown. It seemed familiar, and when she lifted the lid Helen understood why.

"Dear lord. My mother's veil." Helen tucked the lid beneath the box and ran her fingers along the delicate silk. It was the same gossamer material Helen remembered seeing on a few occasions before, when she had snuck into her mother's closet during certain rainy days. It was still as perfectly white as it had been on her mother's wedding day no doubt, with tiny pearls sewn along the top that still shone with a beautiful luster. Helen smiled, running her fingers across the material still.

"Beth, don't bother with the other veil. I want to wear this one." Helen said suddenly as the girl stood, finishing up with the bottom. Helen stepped down from the small stool she was perched on to give her more height so the dress wasn't trailing along the ground, setting the box on her bed. Gently, she lifted the fabric from its home in the box, furrowing her brow when an envelope fell from between the folds. Beth took the veil from her hands while Helen bent to grab the note, surprised when she saw her name scrawled across the front in elegant handwriting that could have only belonged to her mother.

Perching on the edge of the bed, she removed the folded letter from the envelope and began to read.

_My darling Helen, _

_It seems unreal that you're already eight, a bundle of trouble just like your father. You have your whole life ahead of you, a life that I'm certain will be brilliant, bold, and beautiful, filled with wondrous things. At least, that's what every mother hopes for her child. If you're as much as like your father in the future as you are now, I can only imagine what trouble you're going to get in to. I can hardly wait to see you grow up, yet part of me wishes you could remain my little girl forever. I could just keep you sheltered from the horrors of the real world, tucked under my arm with stories of dragons and the little games you're so fond of. _

_But, the time will come when you've grown up and off to get married yourself. I write this letter for that moment so that I can give it to you for when you've gone off on your own to your own life with whatever fantastic man that's managed to tame you. If something should happen, I'll put this letter in a place where you're sure to find it and your father won't. _

_Don't settle, my dear. Don't get married because you feel like you have to. Marry for love, because it turns out better in the end and I can attest to that. I fell in love with your father very easily and lucky enough for me, he was the only man I've ever loved as I do. You may feel fleeting love for someone, but don't let that be your end all, your happiness. Make sure you are truly in love before you take the step of getting married. _

_Of course, I'm not here to lecture you on love. You've got a good head on your shoulders, I am merely warning you that it's not all rainbows and sunshine the way you seem to believe it is now, as an eight year old child who much prefers exploring and dirtying her dresses than listening to any manner lessons. Do me a favor and don't neglect your spouse for your work – another trait that belongs to your father as well, but I wouldn't have it any other way. _

_You, my little girl, are my entire world – you will perhaps know this feeling, when you have children of your own – and my life, ever since you graced us with your presence. I hope I do get to see your wedding, and meet the man you will ultimately spend the rest of your life with. _

_This letter is turning into me gushing over you again, isn't it? I suppose I can't really help it. All in all, Helen, you're brilliant. Use that to your advantage. Yes, fall in love and get married and enjoy life, but don't feel brought down by the boundaries around you. I knew at once you were destined to break most of the regulations set by our society – I can see it in your eyes, that rebellious spirit. Don't fall into a niche that doesn't suit you, and don't hate your life, Helen. Do what you want and – pardon my swearing – say to hell to what anyone else says. Don't worry about the ladies and their ribbons and lace and what they think of you. _

_And, if for some reason you've done all this before this letter reaches you, continue doing what you're doing. Do what makes you happy and nothing else. You deserve to be happy, and while it may not be the end all to life, it's a start and it certainly leads you in the right direction. _

_Now go marry your man, all right?_

_I love you with all of my heart. Never forget that. _

_Mother_

Helen lifted a hand to her lips as she finished reading the letter, eyes watering with tears that threatened to spill over. She gently folded the letter back up and tucked it away, sitting there a long moment as the image of her mother procured itself in her mind. The lovely, beautiful, queenly like woman that Helen had adored growing up with golden ringlets and an angel-like face. The ones who had known her mother well said how much she looked like Patricia – the spitting image of her mother, yet the personality of her father. A volatile combination.

"Are you all right, Ms. Magnus?" Beth inquired, gently brushing a wrinkle from the veil as she finished inspecting it, making sure it was in the proper condition. Helen gave a faint smile and nodded, standing again. Beth circled around her and carefully attached the veil to the top of her head, letting it trail down her back and trail along the ground with the rest of her dress.

"It looks beautiful." Mary said, and Helen turned toward the mirror. For a fleeting moment, she was met with the image of her mother, but when she blinked it was gone and she was left staring at her own reflection. Mary was right – she did look beautiful.

"Just like your mother, Ms. Magnus." Mary smiled, patting her shoulder. "I think you're ready."

"Just . . . wait a moment. Please." Helen held up her hand. "Can you give me a moment, please? Just a moment. Then send James."

"Of course, Ms. Magnus." The pair ducked their heads and slipped from her room. Helen stared at her reflection, reaching up to wipe a stray tear from her face. Perhaps it should have been more nerve-wracking today that she was getting married, but she was happy. Far happier than she'd been in a very long time. Her mother's letter made her feel a swell of pride – she'd been very close to her mother before she'd died, a few months after that letter was written, clearly. Helen had always strived to make her proud and while her father was beyond proud of her, Helen had never been quite sure what to do to make her mother proud. Somewhat more assured about the matter, she smiles at her reflection with a new sense of feeling.

Mentally, she recounted briefly to make certain she had everything. Something old – the veil she now wore, where previously it had been her shoes, something new – the dress itself, as well as the bracelet visible above her glove that Nigel had given her only days ago. Something borrowed, the gloves themselves, borrowed from her cousin Jessica, and something blue – the sapphire earrings Nikola had given her for a birthday present the year before. The sixpence was already in her shoes; Helen was taking all precautions, using all the luck she could get. She wasn't particularly superstitious, but on this one day she needed all the good luck available.

"Thank you, mother." Helen murmured, before a knock on the door drew her out of her thoughts. James stuck his head around the corner with a gentle smile.

"You look lovely, Helen."

"So people keep telling me." Helen gave a lopsided smirk. "Shall we get this over with?"

"You sound so very thrilled." James chuckled, offering his arm. Helen wrapped her arm around his, grinning.

"You know more than anyone else that I don't like these parties. If I'd had my way I'd be in red and it'd just be the four of us in the garden." Helen muttered, tightening her grip on his hand.

"Ready?" He asked, looking down at her.

"As I'll ever be. Tell me this is a good thing, James. Do you think Nikola and I are right for one another?"

"Yes, I do. Not already having second thoughts are you."

"No, someone is just making me think a bit more." Helen shrugged lightly, lifting her skirts so she could make it down the stairs without killing herself and tripping.

"Are you happy, Helen?"

"Very much so."

"Then it's a wonderful thing. You and Nikola are going to be ridiculously happy together. I can promise you that." He said as they hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, waiting to step into the gardens in the back where her family and friends awaited, and Nikola. Helen gave a chuckled and nodded, smiling.

"Shall we begin, then?"


	8. Objective

_**004. objective – summer, 1890**_

"I do thank you for your contributions, Mr. Pennington. They will help immensely so." Helen smiled brightly to the older gentleman beside her who lingered at the corner of the room filled with what had become generous patrons to her work. Another party, another excuse for her to try and gain donors for the research. She was planning a trip abroad that would require new equipment, especially if she got her hands on the abnormal she was chasing, which meant more research money. She had plenty of funds herself, but she didn't want to use them up all at once and have nothing left. It was just planning, really, assuring she would have access to the needed funds while she was abroad.

"Anytime, Helen, you know that." He said, patting her arm. "And call me Sam, will you? I've had to tell you countless times before; how many more are you going to make me?"

"Always once more, Mr. Pennington." She chuckled, drumming her fingers along her fan absently as she scanned the crowd in front of them, searching for any other recognizable face. While Samuel Pennington was a proper gentleman, he did give Helen quite the creeps when she had to be in his company, and it was growing more apparent he cared very little for that reaction from her – she'd been doing well to hide it, but the tighter his grip grew on her arm, the more she had a desire to leave and seek solace from any other friend. She'd met her goal in research money anyway, but leaving just yet was not an option. James was still among the crowd somewhere, perhaps she could find him –

"So eager to leave my company, Helen?" Pennington asked and she looked back at him with a weak smile, using her free hand to now fan herself.

"Of course not. I was merely looking for Dr. Watson. He seems to have escaped on me. Perhaps I should go and seek him out." She said. "Thank you for the company, and I shall see you at a later date." Helen gave another dazzling smile and made to slip away to another part of the room, but Pennington didn't relent his grip on her arm. She scowled inwardly, then turned back toward him.

"Mr. Pennington, I am going to have to ask you to release my arm." Helen said steadily, and he chuckled, almost in a darker like manner. Quite the creep indeed.

"Now, now, Helen. You seem tense. Shall I escort you outside?"

"No. I demand you release my arm right this second or I shall be forced to cause quite the scene." She snapped her fan closed and moved to jerk her arm free, but he had anticipated it and twisted so that she was now against the wall, him hovering above her. The position was familiar, a dominant one John had used several times on her to try and frighten her – Pennington was stronger than she gave him credit for. She gave a repulsed look, bothered by the fact that no one seemed to noticed anything out of the ordinary in their little corner of the room.

"Is there a problem here?"

Helen relaxed visibly at the sound of James' voice. Pennington stepped back and straightened his suit before he turned to James politely.

"Of course not, Dr. Watson. I was just telling Helen of my travels."

"With her pressed against the wall? I don't envy your travels, then, if that's the sort of traveling you do, Mr. Pennington." James replied smoothly. The man's upper lip arched a moment before he proceeded away, off to prey on some other young woman half Helen's age. She shook her head and stepped away from the wall, grateful to take James' hand and let him sweep her toward the dance floor, eager to get her as far away from the creep as possible.

"Are you all right?"

"Fine. But next time you're dealing with the freaks like him." Helen shook her head.

"You can head home if you'd like. I still have a few others I'd like to speak with." James offered and Helen shook her head.

"That's hardly fair. I can wait."

"You might, yes, but your vampire outside can't." James' lip twitched with amusement and Helen arched a brow. Nikola was supposed to be in New York, working on his own inventions for the next few weeks after he had put it all off to spend with Helen – they had honeymooned in New York City, and Helen had returned to London alone, leaving Nikola to work and start establishing his laboratories. He had fulfilled his idea of living in America, but Helen had yet to join him. She was intent on making for sure everything was settled in London before she moved and started work on establishing more sanctuaries – sanctuaries that according to what she and James had been discussing, all over the world. An entire global network at her hands, all dedicated to the rescue and protection of abnormal. Her father would have been immensely proud.

"Go out on the balcony." James urged and released her from their dance with a little bow. Helen studied him quizzically for a moment before she stepped out onto the balcony of the large room. There was no one else who had ventured into the cool breeze of the summer night save for her, leaving her alone looking over the grounds of the estate that the party was being held on.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, so that I may climb the golden stair." Nikola said grandiosely from below, smirking up at Helen as she peered over the edge of the balcony. She shook her head at him and his ridiculous manner.

"You're supposed to be in New York!" She insisted. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I decided to come and visit my wife. Isn't that allowed?" Nikola inquired. "Look, I even shaved my mustache."

"Thank the bloody Lord." Helen smirked. "Hold on, I'll be downstairs in a moment. I have to get back through this room."

"Just jump."

Helen paused, already stepping away from the railing. She looked back over at him, giving him an incredulous look.

"Has being in New York addled your mind further, Nikola? You're insane! I will take the stairs like any other normal being, thank you."

"I'll catch you. Promise." Nikola offered in that pleading tone he knew she couldn't rightly deny. But hitting the ground was not in her mind. Even with Nikola's abilities, she still had her doubts. She sighed, resigned.

"Can I just climb down the trellis over there?"

"Will it hold you?"

"Are you calling me fat, Nikola Tesla?"

"Of course not! What I meant was that trellises can be very weak and your dress and -." He began to backpedal instantly, making Helen giggle furiously. He scowled at her. "Would you just jump, please?"

"If I break something it'll be your head."

"Only if you can catch me first. Now come on, I've made plans for us."

Helen sighed and glanced over her shoulder. James was watching her out of the corner of his eye as he danced with another young woman, amused at the situation clearly. Helen scowled and made sure no one else was watching before she carefully moved to sit on the edge of the railing and threw her legs over. Before she could lose her nerve, she slid off of it and waited for the ground to rush up to meet her.

Naturally, however, Nikola caught her and set her on her own two feet before she'd realized what had happened. When she opened her eyes he was staring back at her with an amused grin of his own, leaning forward to capture her lips in a kiss.

'"Hi." He greeted when he pulled away.

"Hi." She chuckled and hugged him tightly. "I've missed you."

"I've only been gone a few weeks." He conceded. "Are you sure you don't want to come to New York with me?"

"We'll discuss that later. What are these plans of yours?" She asked, pulling away. She reached up and ran her finger across his upper lip, smirking. "You look much better without that caterpillar."

Nikola laughed and wrapped his arm in hers, leading her away across the grounds. "Are you up for a trip into London?"

"What's in London?"

"My objective when I came here was to get you to relax, so we're going to London, down by the river for a picnic in our usual spot and to watch the fireworks they set off in honor of the Queen's birthday." Nikola explained as they approached her carriage, which was surprisingly waiting for her. Nikola opened the door and helped her inside, hand never leaving hers.

"Hopeless romantic, aren't you?" She teased, leaning forward to kiss him more properly now that they were alone and heading toward the city. Nikola pulled her close, brushing ringlet curls out of the way as he trailed kisses along her jaw and neck.

"I wish you'd come back to New York with me." He murmured against her skin as her hands trailed lazily through his hair, mussing it up in every way possible for the sheer purpose of doing so.

"You know I have my work here."

"I don't know how much longer I can fend off the ladies. They keep insisting to see my wife as proof that I have one and that I'm not simply trying to evade them." He teased, lips quirking at the corners as he pulled away to look at her. Helen arched a brow.

"If you're trying to make me jealous, it's working." She muttered. "I'll have you know I've been considering it. James promises he can handle everything, but . . . ."

"You like being in control far too much, love. Let it go. You can run what you need to in New York. Besides, there's a whole new run of abnormals eager to be rescued by your charms." Nikola grinned and Helen chuckled.

"Stubborn man. Fine. I'll return with you if it'll get you to stop nagging me about it." She nudged him playfully, earning another kiss on the cheek. "Though you have to be the one to inform James and Nigel."

"Already done." Nikola mused and she shoved him lightly.

"Cheeky bastard. You came back here to make me return with you, didn't you?"

"That was my goal, yes." He grinned, laughing. "In fact your luggage is already being shipped."

"Oh you sneaky, sneaky, man. You're lucky I put up with you." Helen shook her head, looking out the window. "And I suppose we're actually heading to get on a boat right now?"

"After our little date, yes. I do intend to treat you to a picnic and fireworks first. A good way to be sent off from England, don't you think?" He was toying with her wedding ring now that she'd removed her gloves, a habit he had picked up since day one. Helen shook her head again.

"You'll pay for this trickery, Mr. Tesla."

"Only in the best ways possible at your hand, I should hope."


	9. Shortbread

**This one is a bit short and for that I apologize - let it also be known that I am terrible at writing smut, which is why this chapter does not contain it. Sorry! Enjoy, and thanks so much for all the lovely reviews I've received so far!**

_**009. shortbread – summer, 1890**_

"Put the shortbread down and kiss me."

Well, after that demand, how was Helen to refuse?

Chuckling, Helen replaced the cookie back on the plate and sauntered over to Nikola who was standing on the other side of the hotel room where they were staying in New York. It was a lovely place, though somewhat cramped, but Helen was just grateful to be off the damned boat. Nikola had spent most of his time away from her on the boat, having been drawn away by various things, and now that they were together in the same room, alone, Helen was more than happy to oblige him.

Intending to tease him with a light kiss, Helen was caught by surprised when he grabbed her waist and drew her close as humanly possible. She could have melted then and there from the feelings the kiss sent spiraling through her entire body, right to her very core. The layers between them frustrated her to no end – she couldn't wait for the day when clothes were so ridiculously impractical. His hands found the laces of her dress and tugged on them sharply, letting the fabric fall away. Apparently he was being just as impatient as she was.

"Clearly you've missed me just as much." Helen quipped as he pulled away long enough for her to step out from her dress and him to remove his jacket, vest, and shoes. He chuckled.

"Quite so. My bed's been awfully cold without you to warm it up."

"And here I thought you missed me for my company."

"In every possibly way, Mrs. Tesla."

Her hands found his chest, dragging her nails lightly across the exposed skin now that the buttons on his shirt were undone. His lips found hers again as his own nails found the laces of her corset. Know full and well they were impossible to get by, he simply sliced them with a vampire nail and it too fell away. Another corset ruined – Helen would need to invest in new ones.

"I love you." He murmured against her skin, teeth now nipping at her pulse point as she pushed his shirt all the way off his shoulders. She did couldn't believe she'd married him, but the wedding ring on her finger kept reminding her of it. It was almost too perfect, but she didn't question it and simply enjoyed it while she could.

"I love you too. Always." Helen replied, her voice a bit more breathy than it had been before. Her skin was starting to become ablaze, lighting up with every touch he made and she wasn't even out of the rest of her clothes just yet. Her skin was turning pink, flushing deeper as Nikola continued his movements against her. Without a second thought she grabbed him by the waistband and tugged him backward toward the bed, reaching behind her with her other hand to undo the rest of the lacing. The last of her clothes dropped to the floor, leaving her in pale white underwear that would be far easier of a barrier to remove in the minutes to come.

"Bloody tease." Helen said, almost through clenched teeth as Nikola's lips continued a pattern down her skin to her cleavage. Her hands were still at his waist, tugging at his trousers until he gave in and kicked them away. She pulled him into bed, smirking. "Perhaps I should stay away more often."

"Like hell I'm letting you out of my sight now, let alone another country away from me." Nikola muttered. She wouldn't mention her abroad trip just yet – quite frankly it was the last thing on her mind at the moment, and she was far more occupied with the mouth that was travelling lower and lower on her body to the place where she most desperately needed it. All coherent thought went flying out the window.

After Nikola had reminded Helen precisely why she was never staying away for more than a few days ever again, she lay curled against him, sweaty, with her hair fanning out across his chest. Her breathing had returned to a normal state, however, her heart was still beating a quickened rhythm that Nikola's matched. She gave an amused little smile, looking up at him.

"Lovely way to welcome me to America, darling." She said and he chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I thought so as well." He mused. "And now perhaps you can fend off all those women."

"I doubt they follow you as you say, Niko." She nudged him gently. "You should have been at the party. James had to fend off a rather odd, creep of a man."

Nikola gave a low growl and she laughed, shifting so that she was straddling his hips, hands resting against his chest.

"Don't worry, love. It's your ring I'm wearing, is it not? No one is going to take me away from you." She assured, reaching up to draw her fingers through his hair with a gentle smile. His hands rested at her waist, thumbs tracing circles there as he watched her.

"Good. I wouldn't want to have to break someone's arm for touching you." He smirked, fangs extending slightly from his teeth. Helen tapped his jaw.

"I've enough bites at the moment from you. Put them away before you get tempted." She warned. The bite mark he had given her on her neck had long since turned into a scar, but whenever he started his sexual antics it would be the second place the fire in her body would start, throbbing with need as if it sensed him. It was as if he had marked her as his, permanently – and if that didn't, the small bites he left with human teeth along her body certainly did.

"I'm serious. I get quite jealous and now that you're officially mine, I have all the right." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"Only if I get to take down these so called 'hoards' of women who are apparently after you." Helen smirked, leaning down to kiss him again, hair cascading over one shoulder like a long curtain.

"Deal." He grinned when she had pulled away.

"Good. Now, I think it's time for dinner and since I don't fancy putting that dress back on, I vote we order room service." Helen bent and kissed him again before rolling away to climb off the bed. "I'm going to freshen up. Order me something delicious."

"If you wanted that we can just stay in bed."

"Really?" She laughed. "That was awful."

"A man can try." He smirked.

Helen shook her head at him as she picked up another shortbread cookie and nibbled at it. "Did you make these?"

He snorted. "No. They were a gift. You know I hate cookies." His nose wrinkled at the very idea of a cookie. Helen giggled.

"Good thing one of us can cook, then, anyway. These are awful."


	10. Pretend

**So, um, hi. I exist. College ate my life, but recently I found new muse for this particular story and at the request of two readers - you know who you are - I decided to start updating again. I hope you're all still enjoying it!**

_**010. pretend – winter, 1890**_

New York City was even more beautiful during the winter in certain areas, with the fresh snowfall covering the place in a blanket of white. Still not as lovely as London, according to Helen (or Serbia, according to Nikola), but it had its own beauty about it that could not be compared, especially once everything had started to be decked out with Christmas decorations. It would be both Helen and Nikola's first Christmas in America, and together as a married couple, and Helen hoped there would be plenty more to come. She had yet to decide what to get him for the holiday, as he was rather difficult to shop for. What exactly did one get Nikola Tesla for Christmas? Gifts for previous holidays had been little things, but Helen wanted something with more meaning this year, something far more sentimental.

Peeling away her gloves that had shielded her hands from the cold, Helen entered the laboratory further, carefully sidestepping several half-finished inventions that lay in a pile in the corner. Lab tables were absolutely littered with pieces and bits and such – but it was an organized mess, she knew, because Nikola was not one without his organization. Silly man. Helen didn't dare touch anything, however, very much aware of the consequences.

"Nikola?" She called, and he poked his head from behind some large contraption that took up most of the east wing of the room. He gave a half grin, hair sticking on end.

"And just where have you been all day?" He arched a brow at her winter attire. Helen returned the grin with a smile of her own, continuing to weave her way through lab tables to get to him.

"Christmas shopping. Sort of. And posting a letter to James. I think we're going to see what we can do about finding a place for abnormals here in New York. A Sanctuary, of sorts. The one in London is flourishing and we're going to work on expanding it." She smiled brightly. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"And you were worried about living in New York." He scoffed. She shook her head.

"There is still a problem, however." Helen pointed out, dusting half melted snowflakes from her blonde curls. "You're not aging."

"Since when has that ever been a problem?" He shook his head, ducking back down behind the large structure. She frowned, briefly, hands on her hips.

"Your face is plastered across most newspapers every other week, Nikola. Eventually they're going to notice something is wrong when their great inventor doesn't start aging." She pointed out, leaning around the structure to look at him. "We can't keep playing pretend."

"So we play a new game of pretend. Make-up exists for a reason, my dear Helen. But if you think I'm going to stop inventing –"

"I never said that, insufferable man. I was just making you aware of the facts. And just for that snip, you can forget about the surprise I had for you, too."

He paused in his work, looking back up at her again with an eyebrow raised.

"Do tell."

"No."

"Helen." He nearly whined at her, very much like a child. She kept a straight face, however, turning her back to him.

_"No._"

She heard the shuffling of movement as she folded her arms across her chest, and a moment later there were lips on her neck, hands at her sides.

"_Tell me_."

"Bloody cheater." She grumbled as he kissed a trail from her newly exposed shoulder, up her neck and to just behind her ear, standing behind her. His hands at her waist tightened, pulling her flush against his chest, determined to get it out of her.

"You never specified rules." He chuckled and Helen felt it rumble in his chest, shooting straight through her. Damned man. "What if I show you something absolutely amazing?"

"Nikola, I swear to God -."

"No, no, that comes later, my dear." He grinned, spinning her around to face him. Helen narrowed her eyes, but he was already taking her hand and tugging her back toward the structure, leaving several feet between them and it. He flipped a switch nearby and it suddenly hummed to life – Helen stepped back warily as the air around them seemed to crackle and pop, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

With a sudden crack, lightning flashed from the top and arced straight into Nikola's outstretched hand. He seemed unfazed by the electricity now jumping between him and the contraption, merely grinned wildly; at least Helen now understood why he'd stepped away from her still. She watched as he dropped his arm and lightning crackled around the top – he stretched out his other hand and it jumped back to him, forming another arc of electricity above. Her lips were parted in slight awe, watching. So this was what he'd been working on for the past few months.

"Come here." He stated and she frowned, briefly, wary of the lightning that he had let go of now and was striding toward her. Without hesitation he wrapped his arms back around her from behind, taking one of her hands within his own.

"Don't move." He ordered, then added quieter against her ear over the hum of the machine. "Don't be afraid."

Their hands joined, he lifted them out toward the machine. Helen jumped, startled as the electricity jumped to their entwined fingers, dancing along them. Her fingers grew tingly, the feeling creeping up her arm. Not painful – it was as if one of her limbs had fallen asleep. She smiled, watching in slight wonder and feeling very much like a child with a new toy – was this how Nikola felt constantly about all of his inventions?

She'd married a truly brilliant man. His inventions were absolutely stunning in some aspects – she only wished he hadn't to deal with Edison and his lies, as he had over the past few years while he'd been in New York without her. But he'd managed and now seemed spurred on better than before, determined to invent and create and better the world – the same as Helen was, with the abnormals.

But her earlier words had been true. He wasn't aging, and neither was she. They never would. And with Nikola being a rather well-known celebrity most days, and Helen as his wife, it would become obvious soon enough. Precautions would need to be put into place, and they would have to start aging themselves with make-up, no doubt. Worth it, in the end, Helen imagined, but it would be quite a feat to keep their immortality under wraps. Nikola was antisocial enough as it was, so perhaps it would be easier for her to put on the front for him.

Later on, however, Helen was also very much aware their deaths would need to be staged. Somehow. It was details she was leaving for later on, eventually, but they would need to fake their deaths and move away from New York for a while, disappear. No more playing pretend. She flinched internally, remembering John's vague words about playing house with Nikola. Helen was determined to build a life with him, however, and to hell with the serial killer that wanted them both dead. She would face him, eventually, and the results would be the same as their last encounter – Helen refused to let John win.

"I think I'm going to patent it after the New Year." He said conversationally against her ear still, watching the lightning arch across their fingers. His voice pulled Helen from her thoughts. "Could come in handy, I think. But it's highly likely everyone else will need a special suit in order to pull this off. Not everyone is an absolutely handsome vampire."

She chuckled softly, the smile still evident on her face as she rested back against him, watching their hands. "This is absolutely brilliant, Nikola."

"Glad I haven't lost my touch." He mused, lowering their hands before reaching over and flipping the machine off, keeping his grip on Helen.

"Going to tell me your surprise now?" He asked after a few more moments, lips returning to her neck, a favorite spot of his (and hers).

"It'll take more than this just to get it out of me. Surprises are meant to be just that – if I told, it wouldn't be a surprise." Helen mused, twisting in his arms. She moved to sneak a kiss on his cheek but he'd anticipated it, turning his head to capture her lips with his own in a kiss that lingered far longer than she'd intended. His arms tightened around her again, pulling her close, and she became vaguely aware that they were stepping back – at least until Nikola hit one of the lab tables.

"We're going to frighten your secretary." Helen murmured against his lips as he twisted them, so that Helen was back against the lab table now and he was pressing against her, lips trailing hot kisses along the line of her jaw and down the open neckline of her dress, exposed when he'd shoved her jacket away.

"Sent her home for the day." He replied, lips against one swell of her breast above the lace of her dress. His hands had already slid around to the back, tugging lightly at the strings in place that kept it bound to her body. "You really ought to wear more practical dresses."

"Didn't know you had plans to jump me in your lab when I came to see what you were doing. Otherwise I would have." She gave a cheeky smirk, slipping an arm around to help him. "As much as I love this, I think it was best we continued upstairs. Softer surfaces."

"Right." And with that, he swept Helen up without a second's thought, kissing her again. She laughed, only just managing to snatch her coat up rather than leaving it on the bench, Nikola's gift tucked away inside. She would show him later, yes – it was simply just fun to see him try and pry it out of her.

They lived in a suite of apartments above the lab, ones that Helen had so carefully put together, as Nikola had little care for interior design. Up a flight of stairs and through a door in the hall had them in the lounge, upon which Helen immediately discarded her jacket onto the sofa, pushing his lab coat away from his shoulders the moment she was on her own two feet again. His lips captured hers in another searing kiss, and suddenly Helen wasn't aware of anything past her own skin, and Nikola. For all his insufferable sarcasm and lewd comments, he certain did have a way with his hands – in more ways than one.

Slipping her hand behind her once more, she tugged once and the dress fell away somewhere in the hall on the way to their bedroom; she merely kicked it aside, fingers working quickly to tug at Nikola's buttons on his oxford shirt.

"Far too many buttons." She managed to get out in between kisses, inhaling sharply before she gave up and tugged sharply, popping off the last few in impatience – she owed him several new shirts for that exact reason, the same as he owed her several new corsets.

"If you weren't so impatient . . . ." He began, but she cut him off with another kiss, pushing the fabric of the shirt away from his shoulders and using her other hand to snag the hem of his trousers, pulling him closer and in through the doorway to their bedroom.

"You started it." She accused lightly, falling back onto the pillows. The moment he moved to hover over her, Helen's leg wrapped around his and she flipped them, so that she was straddling his waist, his hands at her hips to hold her in place. "But I intend to finish it."

"Too many layers." He added, almost grumpily, pulling at the thin layer she had on beneath the dress and the corset she had confining her chest. In all honesty, Helen would have liked to gone without either on a daily basis, but she had the determination to keep within the proper fashionable styles that most women of New York continued to participate in. But they were far too inhibiting for her tastes still. Perhaps there would come an era where such things didn't exist.

As expected, in return for ripping the buttons on his shirt he merely extended a nail, sliding it along the other strings in the back of her corset and the remaining thin shift of fabric, letting them fall away without a care and shoving them away once Helen had wormed out of them. Hands splayed across his chest, she leaned down to trail kisses in the place her fingers just vacated, nails digging lightly into his skin as they drifted further down toward his trousers, her next goal in mind. Nikola's own hands were trailing up and down her sides, eliciting goosebumps across her skin from his feather-light touch. One hand hooked within the material of her remaining underwear, prepared to tug them off at the same moment her fingers had found the button of his pants -

Then, the knock at the door came.

She paused a moment, listening, but Nikola seemed to have not heard it because he took the opportunity to flip them again, so that he was hovering over her.

The knock sounded again and Helen sighed heavily.

"Go answer the door, Nikola. Apparently it's someone important." She urged and he frowned at her.

"Why don't you answer it?"

"Because you just destroyed my under garments and my dress is laying in the hall. It's far easier for you to get dressed than I." She stated firmly, fixating him with a look despite every bone in her body telling her to pull him closer and ignore the knocking at the door. Nikola scowled at her, faintly, but she gave him another brief kiss and urged him in the direction of the door.

"I'll owe you." She promised and he grumbled something in Serbian before grabbing at his shirt and pulling on what was left of it, along his shoulders. He disappeared into the hall and a moment later her dress was tossed into the room. Helen gave a soft laugh, moving to close the door so she could at dress herself in a somewhat reasonable way, in case whoever was at the door chose to stay.

A male voice drifted back to her just as she was lacing herself back into her dress. It sounded vaguely familiar, and when she finally dared to venture back into the other room after dressing, laughter floated from the lounge. She turned the corner and smiled brightly.

"Nigel!" She greeted, and he stood, allowing her to embrace him. He gave a deep chuckle, pulling her into a tight hug. "It's wonderful to see you."

"You as well, Helen. Forgive me if I, ah, interrupted anything." He gave a knowing smirk and a wink that earned him a hard nudge from Helen, who shook her head.

"Cheeky bugger."

But, somehow, Nigel was easy enough to forgive for his interruptions. After all, they had plenty of time later to make up for lost moments. Judging by the look in Nikola's eyes, too, when she caught sight of them, he intended to wholly make up for it as well.


End file.
